[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-technology-invades-the-modern-world":3,"chapter-technology-invades-the-modern-world-technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-42":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Technology Invades the Modern World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2269526,4430,"Chapter 42: Are You Really Content to Be a Wall Observer?","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-42",42,"\u003Cp>“Apricot blossoms, spring rain, the Jiangnan...” Lin Ran’s voice, captured by an aluminum ribbon microphone and amplified through a Marantz Model 1 tube amplifier, radiated from the Kowloon Piram Hill transmission station across the entire Hong Kong Island.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sssss... sssss...” In a cheap teahouse in Sham Shui Po, the budget Red Lamp 711-2 radio constantly emitted static.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uncle Wang, can you fix it? If not, I’m going across the street!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, it cuts out twice just for one sentence— is this radio even meant for listening?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I say German radios are far better— these Shanghai Red Lamps just don’t cut it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Customers’ complaints rose and fell; they simply couldn’t tolerate having Professor Lin’s first Hong Kong interview cut up like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Quiet down—German radios are only for upscale teahouses. If I raised my tea prices fivefold, I’d replace yours.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Quiet! I’m fixing it right now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Red Lamp radio was manufactured by Shanghai Radio Factory No. 2 under the Shanghai Instrument Bureau, modeled after Soviet five-tube sets, designed for low cost and easy repair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike German radios, which required specialized repair shops, Uncle Wang could fix the Red Lamp with just a few tweaks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Red Lamp radios in Hong Kong teahouses weren’t from Shanghai—they were local imitations, even cheaper than the Shanghai originals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Apricot blossoms, spring rain, Jiangnan—said so beautifully. No wonder he’s a scholar; even his interviews are cultured.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t Professor Lin grow up overseas? It’s impressive he speaks fluent Chinese, but how does he have such deep grounding in traditional culture? Those few lines were perfect!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t be ridiculous—this isn’t traditional culture, it’s metaphor, do you understand metaphor?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the teahouse, discussions erupted about the concept of “cultural Chinese” in relation to Lin Ran.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Jingrun and Section Chief Zhang, father and son, sat facing each other in the same teahouse, having ordered only one cup of tea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t strange they came specifically to listen to Lin Ran’s interview—or rather, as one of the last eight students in Lin Ran’s seminar, it would’ve been strange if they hadn’t come to the teahouse to hear the broadcast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cultural Chinese?” Section Chief Zhang mused. “That’s a useful concept—could be applied in winning over overseas Chinese.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The teahouse they were in was better than the previous one—it was Lianxiang Lou, a modest but respectable establishment, equipped with a Zenith Trans-Oceanic radio from Illinois, USA, capable of receiving global shortwave signals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The line ‘we are cultural Chinese’ is perfectly said—no one can deny it. Wherever you are—whether in Hong Kong, Macau, or even San Francisco—you cannot escape the influence of Chinese culture.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor Lin’s words struck a chord in me—I even felt the scent of rain from my childhood in Jiangnan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hope, before I die, I can return to my homeland once more.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wind blows harder, snow falls heavier, shattering dreams of home—there is no such sound in my native land.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The patrons’ conversations in this teahouse were noticeably more refined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Before preparing this interview, I learned from Mr. Zhou Cong that Professor Lin had specially prepared a song for our program. Mr. Zhou Cong produced it and called it a groundbreaking work that opened a new era in Chinese music.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I had the privilege of hearing it once in the studio before the broadcast. I agree with Mr. Zhou—this is an entirely new style, a profoundly moving composition.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Before we play the song, I’d like to ask Professor Lin a few questions. The song is titled ‘Wall Observer.’ Did you write it with any deeper meaning?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After learning she would interview Lin Ran, Deng Huixin gathered his public materials to ensure a smooth broadcast. She had merely respected him as a brilliant mathematician whose global achievements were renowned—but after hearing “Wall Observer,” her respect turned to reverence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was hard to imagine a mathematician could compose such a beautiful song.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Gu Zhengqiu’s performance and Zhou Cong’s arrangement, the song surpassed its original version by far, perfectly capturing the rhythm and unique charm of traditional Chinese-style music.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Cong was an early-renowned Hong Kong musician, hailed as the “Broadcasting Emperor,” working for both Hong Kong Radio and Rediffusion. He had written the lyrics for early radio request songs like “Birthday Song” and “Wedding Song.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, when speaking of this, Deng Huixin’s gaze toward Lin Ran carried a tender, almost affectionate warmth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For this song’s creation, beyond Mr. Zhou Cong, who produced it, and Ms. Gu Zhengqiu, who sang it, I must thank Ms. Meng Xiaodong. I asked her to help me record it, and within just one week, she assembled such a powerful team—the final result surpassed even my own expectations. Thank you so much, Ms. Meng.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The song’s title expresses my intent: whether regarding invitations to return to China, or to the island, or elsewhere—I only wish to focus on my academic work on campus. As for all other matters, I simply wish to be a Wall Observer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Being misunderstood is the fate of the speaker. I know this song will be interpreted by newspapers, scholars, and the public in countless ways—but my original intention was simply this: I want to do my academic work in peace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Deng Huixin heard “Being misunderstood is the fate of the speaker,” her eyes lit up again—compared to other interview guests, Lin Ran had far too many quotable lines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Lianxiang Lou, Chen Jingrun, upon hearing “Wall Observer,” felt Professor Lin’s image had grown even more veiled in his mind: “Is calculating intercontinental missile trajectories for China being a Wall Observer? Is sharing your own data to help Chinese people become self-reliant being a Wall Observer? Is holding this seminar specifically for Chinese students being a Wall Observer?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless thoughts surged through Chen Jingrun’s mind; memories flooded back. Today, he understood clearly: the seminar had been created solely for him—everyone else was just filling seats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More bluntly, it wasn’t even for him—it was for the Chinese government’s emissaries. Every lesson was designed to serve him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the faint frustration on Professor Lin’s face two days ago, when he stood confronting the white man at the lecture hall door, now seemed unmistakably clear: “Professor Lin, are you truly content to be a Wall Observer?” Chen Jingrun pondered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As distractions filled Chen Jingrun’s mind, the song’s melody echoed through the quiet teahouse:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Now I wander, stained, at banquets of joy\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Youth fades—how can I see the former brilliance of the cave’s murals?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet I awake, merely a Wall Observer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the song ended, sudden, thunderous applause erupted in the silent teahouse.\u003C\u002Fp>",1090,"2026-06-19T21:37:46.551Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","0796e3cc48b63ca6292806649cd565d953a1964799931e85ca125f1fafd2d74f","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-43","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-41",162,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftechnology-invades-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]